Accelerating ¹⁵N and ¹³C R₁ and R_1ρ relaxation measurements by multiple pathway solid-state NMR experiments

Magic angle spinning (MAS) Solid-state NMR is a powerful technique to probe dynamics of biological systems at atomic resolution. R₁ and R_1ρ relaxation measurements can provide detailed insight on amplitudes and time scales of motions, especially when information from several different site-specific types of probes is combined. However, such experiments are time-consuming to perform. Shortening the time necessary to record relaxation data for different nuclei will greatly enhance practicality of such approaches. Here, we present staggered acquisition experiments to acquire multiple relaxation experiments from a single excitation to reduce the overall experimental time. Our strategy enables one to collect ¹⁵N and ¹³C relaxation data in a single experiment in a fraction of the time necessary for two separate experiments, with the same signal to noise ratio.